A US air strike in Afghanistan has killed a high-ranking Al Qaeda operational commander, the US military said on Friday.

The US military named the target of the strike as Abu Khalil Al-Sudani, saying he was killed in a July 11 strike in the Bermal district of Afghanistan's Paktika province.

In a statement, it said he was head of Al Qaeda "suicide and explosives operations" and was linked to plots to attack US targets.

Sudani directed attacks against US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan as well as against Afghan and Pakistani forces, it said.

The strike in Paktika was the latest in a series of US counter-terrorism strikes in Afghanistan in recent weeks and also killed two other militants, the military told reporters travelling with Defense Secretary Ash Carter in Erbil, Iraq. - Reuters